


Donna Moss, Junior Communications Specialist

by autumnalequinox



Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:34:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24067438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autumnalequinox/pseuds/autumnalequinox
Summary: Aaron Sorkin said something like if he did it again, he would promote Donna out of Josh's office in season 2 and get them together sooner. Here's my attempt!
Relationships: Josh Lyman/Donna Moss
Comments: 26
Kudos: 191





	1. Andy's Idea

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place just after the Correspondents' Dinner the team was preparing for in 17 People.

Toby Ziegler usually had a difficult time listening to the President speak, and he hated the Correspondents’ Dinner, so none of his colleagues were surprised when he excused himself from the table moments before President Bartlet took the podium.

He stationed himself in the lobby, where he wouldn’t hear the words of the speech through the closed doors that led to the grand ballroom, but could still tell when the audience laughed – and for how long.

 _Laugh now,_ he thought to himself after the first outburst from the attendees. _You won’t be laughing with us much longer_.

The turn of events sure to come, more than his distaste for an event that celebrated the thorn in his side that was the media, was really why he left the room. It was getting harder to enjoy the company of his fellow staffers who did not yet know about the lie they were all complicit in.

If Toby’s calculations were correct, the three biggest hits were the Ways and Means joke, the Josh joke, and the one about the Viagra amendment to the healthcare bill.

After he reasoned the speech was over, he slinked back to his table and took his seat between Josh and Andy, who had ditched her own assigned seat, determined to make Toby’s night even more miserable.

“The ways and means joke was good,” Toby said to Josh over the din of conversation that had picked back up.

“Would you believe Donna wrote it?” said Josh.

“Donna wrote that Ways and Means joke?” Andy intruded. “I didn’t know she did any speech writing.”

“It was sort of a collaborative thing,” Josh replied.

Toby glanced at Andy. Her face looked just as it did when she learned the Maryland 5th House seat would be vacated. She had an idea, God help him.

* * *

Donna arrived at the West Wing early the next morning. Most of the senior staff would be an hour or so late, hung over from the Correspondents’ Dinner, so it was a good opportunity for her to catch up on some work. The stack of memos Josh needed to read was piling up on her desk, and it was her job to preview and prioritize them before he took them home over the weekend.

Generally she liked skimming the memos, although she felt bad for their authors. They were policy wonks, people who had devoted their adult lives to the subjects of 100-plus-page papers that Josh Lyman would read about two paragraphs of and then accidentally douse in coffee.

This morning, she was having a hard time focusing on the report before her ( _Policy Recommendations to Minimize Effects of Hawaiian Coral Reef Bleaching Events_ ). She’d been increasingly paranoid about what she said to Josh a few nights ago, something completely idiotic about red lights. She was worried she had crossed a line, that she had misread friendly gestures as signs of something more and had taken it too far. Since that misstep, she had tried to be as professional as possible. This wasn’t the first day this week she had come in early.

At some point while she jotted a list of the ways coral reef bleaching could potentially impact Hawaiian tourism, her phone rang.

“Josh Lyman’s office,” she said sleepily but automatically, a pen and notepad already in hand.

“Hi,” a man’s voice on the line said brightly. “This is Alex Roberson, Congresswoman Andrea Wyatt’s Chief of Staff. I’m calling to speak with Donna Moss?”

Donna furrowed her brow and scanned her desk calendar for any indication as to what this could be about. Nothing coming up on Andy’s committee agenda involved Josh’s office. Maybe it was something personal; Andy was a frequent guest during the campaign, and she knew Josh well through Toby.

“This is Donna,” she said at last.

“Fantastic! Donna, our team has an opening here in our Washington office for a junior communications specialist – someone to draft press releases and assist with speech writing. Congresswoman Wyatt is very impressed with your work on the President’s remarks last night, and we are hoping to get you in the office for an informal interview. Do you have any availability tomorrow?”

 _What is happening how does she know I helped on the speech a job interview I’m not a speech writer…_ her thoughts were racing, but the moment she caught Josh walking into the office out of the corner of her eye, she heard the echo of her ridiculous declaration again: _If you were in an accident, I wouldn’t stop for red lights._

She looked again at the calendar. Josh would be in a meeting at Commerce for two hours tomorrow.

“I could squeeze an hour or so tomorrow at 1:15,” she said in what must have sounded like a squeak to Alex Roberson.

“Great. No need to bring a writing sample or anything. Representative Wyatt knows your style. We just want to talk. See you tomorrow.”

“See you,” she said, hanging up.

Andy knew her style? Of course she did; Andy had probably read memos from Josh about the President’s legislative goals, and she knew Josh well enough to know that Donna had ghostwritten.

Suddenly, Josh was standing behind her computer, looking a little pale, but smirking.

“Your Ways and Means joke killed last night,” he said.

“Really?” Donna asked. _Ah ha._ _That’s how she found out._

“Yeah. Luckily I was there to take all the credit.” He strutted away, and Donna didn’t even care, because she knew the truth and so did Andy Wyatt.

* * *

The minute Josh was out the door the next day, so was Donna. She loved the walk to the Hill, especially now that it was a little warmer.

Of course, Andy’s Congressional office wasn’t in the Capitol building, but in a building nearby. Because Donna had a White House badge, security wasn’t a nightmare and she was in the lobby of Andy’s suite with ten minutes to spare. She had traded her cardigan for a blazer and applied fresh coats of lipstick and mascara before leaving. Last night, she had stayed late to review Andy’s priority issues and key legislation, which she found in Josh’s massive cabinet where he kept a file on every member of Congress. Donna felt prepared.

At 1:15 on the dot, the large wooden door to the inner office opened and a young, thin man stepped into the lobby, extending his hand. He was dressed fairly casually: no tie and sleeves rolled up. Donna hoped she wasn’t overdoing it with the blazer.

“Donna! Great to meet you. I’m Alex Roberson, come on in.” He ushered her into the next room, which reminded her of the Mural Room. A few large windows let in a decent amount of light, brightening up the dark, ornate furniture.

Andy stood up from one of the couches and walked over to embrace Donna. Once they were both seated, Andy introduced her to the other two people in the room, her executive assistant, named Laura, and a middle-aged man named Scott. Scott was the communications director, Donna’s would-be boss.

“The rest of the staff works from the Maryland office,” Alex explained.

“But you would be here, Donna,” Andy interjected. “No need to move out of the city center to be closer to work!” _As if the Maryland office isn’t a twenty-minute drive from here,_ Donna thought.

“That would be great,” she said politely.

“Alright, let’s talk shop,” said Andy. “Let’s see what we can do to get you out of the bulldog pen and into a role suited to your talents.”

Donna had always been a little intimidated by Andy, and not just because she was a Congresswoman. She was someone who went after what she wanted, no matter how challenging. And right now, she wanted Donna. Donna felt a surge of power she’d never once felt while sitting outside of Josh Lyman’s door.


	2. The Next-to-Last Thing Josh Expected to Find Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place during "Bad Moon Rising."

Everyone else was having a bad day. Toby was going ballistic over a leak and making C.J. conduct a staff-wide witch-hunt over it. Sam was unusually sullen over this oil spill. Leo and the President were in an all-day meeting with Babbish, and every time they emerged from his office, their expressions were grimmer.

Despite all this, Josh Lyman was having a great day. He was going to save the entire country of Mexico today, which everyone thought was fantastic, except for Donna. She didn’t think her tax money should bail out a foreign government. All the better. He was going to save Mexico _and_ win an argument with Donna.

Donna had been even more chipper than normal today, probably because she had re-organized her desk (“Spring cleaning, Joshua! The less cluttered the space, the less cluttered the mind!”). She was arguing _happily_ , if that was possible, and she had gone all-in on pranking C.J. Another reason his day wasn’t total garbage: when Donna was in a good mood, it was like having more light in the office, or an extra shot of espresso in your latte for free. She put everyone around her in a good mood, too.

So he was surprised when, after handing her the social studies textbook, she said rather seriously, “I need to talk to you about something.”

He told her to take a seat, half-noticing the pink sweater she was wearing, that it made her cheeks look a little rosier.

He shook the half-thought out of his head. Things with Donna had been a little too…interesting in the last few months for him to start entertaining ideas like that. It had started with the Joey Lucas stuff after the State of the Union. Even though he had been clear with Joey that she was wrong, since then, he and Donna had been..well, nothing, but maybe…maybe a little more _relaxed_ with each other. They had started splitting beers in the office on late nights. It was possible he had gone a little far with the flowers this year, and today with the joke about her equipment, but it was in good fun. He was still right. It wasn’t like that with Donna. Probably. If they were more than boss and assistant, it was because they were friends.

“What’s up?” he asked her now. She started to speak, but then stopped herself and smiled before starting again.

“Thank you, for taking time for this,” she said, suddenly sounding formal. “And thank you, you know, for all of this.” She gestured vaguely around his office.

“Donna, I really appreciate the moment of gratitude, but-“

She interrupted him. “Oh, hold your horses, would you? You aren’t busy right now, and I’ve had to work up the courage to say this all day.”

For a moment, every cell in his body froze. If she was about to say what he thought she was about to say, what was he going to do?

_I’m flattered, but I don’t feel the same way._

_It would not be appropriate for us to have that kind of relationship._

_It's about time you realized you were wasting your life away with Republican losers._

_Thank God, me too, come back to my place tonight…_

“I am so, so grateful to you, Josh, for giving me two opportunities of a lifetime. First the campaign, then the White House! I can never thank you enough. Without you, I’d never be able to become a Congressional communications specialist. Well, junior communications specialist. And-“

“Wait, what?” He hadn’t been listening out of fear she was going to prove Joey Lucas right. “Say that again?”

“I was just saying that you’ve done so much for me-“

“No, before that.”

“The news? Andy, I mean Congresswoman Wyatt,” she said slowly, “offered me a job. Yesterday. And I said yes.” She didn’t say anything then, and looked down at the textbook in her lap. He immediately felt stupid. What a stupid thing to spend his time doing, finding a social studies textbook to give to her.

He broke the silence. “You’re leaving?”

“Well, I think of it more as resigning. And not today, two weeks. So, this is my two-week notice.” She glanced at him with a very particular expression: part pride, part sorrow.

“Andy offered _you_ a job?” It came out wrong, the emphasis on the wrong word. His face probably didn’t help; he knew he must have looked stunned. This had to be the very last thing he expected to find out today.

Her face contorted, her features unifying into a look of wounded rage.

“You sound so surprised, like you can’t believe someone…someone like me would be hired by someone like her.” She stood up. “Well look in the mirror, buddy, because you hired me! Twice!”

“Well, technically three times…”

“And if you didn’t want me to leave, you shouldn’t have told Andy that I wrote the Ways and Means joke!”

There was something so personal about that accusation that he didn’t _want_ her to leave. It was true, but it wasn’t something he imagined Sam felt about Ginger, or C.J. about Carol. Well, maybe C.J. about Carol…

“Okay, I can’t deal with this right now,” he said in a harsh whisper, and he walked past her, past her clean – no, empty – desk, his feet taking him to Toby’s office. Why in the hell would he think it’s okay to tell Andy to hire Donna? Was this some sort of joke?

Just as he crossed the into the communications bullpen to give Toby a piece of his mind, Margaret stepped in front of him.

“Josh, Leo and the President want you in the Oval for a minute.” He looked at his watch. It was almost six o’ clock. What did they have to tell him that couldn’t wait until tomorrow?

“Fine,” he exhaled. Screw it. He had saved Mexico today. Deciding not to let Donna and Toby’s little plot ruin his day of victory, he changed course and headed to the Oval Office.

Leo met him by Charlie’s desk, clapped him on the back, and said, “Come on in, son, take a seat.”

* * *

Toby watched Josh walk back to his office, his eyes glued to the floor. Toby simmered. Josh had taken a literal bullet for the President, and now he would be tasked with defending, _justifying_ the greatest lie ever told in American politics.

Toby preferred to work – and deal with things – alone. But Josh, despite the big game he talked and his savior complex, wasn’t like that. Josh needed support, someone to help him process, and, most importantly, someone to make sure he didn’t fly off the handle.

He stepped back inside his office and picked up the phone to dial Donna’s desk. No answer. He walked over to try to find her, but she wasn’t there. Her desk top was completely bare.

He looked at Josh’s closed door and thought about knocking. Then, thinking better of it, he walked back to his office, sank into his armchair, and waited for C.J. to update him on the leak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I adjusted the timeline a bit; in the show, Josh finds out about President Bartlet's MS two days after Babbish.


	3. Two Weeks, Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all of the kind comments! I hope this chapter meets expectations. You'll see that I am continuing to adjust the MS timeline.

On Tuesday, her second day as Congresswoman Andrea Wyatt’s junior communication specialist, Donna arrived at 8:15. Last week, Alex Roberson had called her at home and told her that on most days, the staff showed up to work between 8:00 and 8:30, which made her chuckle.

“Sorry,” she had said, “but I’m used to 6:15. I don’t know what I’ll do with that extra time.”

Yesterday, she had woken up at her usual 4:30. She completed a crossword puzzle, finished a letter to her sister, and prepared dinner for that evening, still managing to make it to the office by 7:45. After spending 25 minutes waiting for someone to show up and unlock the door, she vowed not to be so eager in the future.

So today it was 8:15. She walked into the sunny office she shared with Laura, Andy’s assistant, and noticed a red light blinking next to her phone’s receiver. It was probably a message from H.R. about the Congressional employee ethics seminar she had to attend later. She pressed the playback button, then the speakerphone key, and hung up her jacket.

“New message, 6:43 AM,” the answering machine began, followed by a long beep.

“Hey, it’s me, uh, Josh.” Donna stopped unpacking her work bag and looked at the phone as if it had come to life. The message continued, undeterred by her shock.

“I didn’t want to call you at home too early…” he sighed. “Call me back when you can. I need to tell you something. It’s important. Okay. Bye. Uh, I hope you had a good first day.” _Beep._

Donna didn’t know what to do. Scream? Call him back? Ignore it forever? She peeled off her sweater, thankful Laura wasn’t in yet to see her sweating.

She sat down and played the message again. Josh’s voice sounded even more tired than usual, and maybe a little sad, too.

Thinking about Josh’s sadness sent a fresh wave of guilt over her, but she reminded herself of his own words: his feelings were not her responsibility. She deleted the message and turned on her computer to prepare for her 9am staff meeting.

**2 Weeks Prior**

The days following Donna’s resignation notice were some of the worst she had experienced in the West Wing. Josh was barely speaking to her, taking it so far that he let her spend an entire day worked up about a satellite crash for no reason. He refused to look through the applicant files personnel had sent over for her replacement, and she seriously doubted he even glanced at her notes on Hawaiian coral reef bleaching events. He was spending longer and longer amounts of time away from his desk, instead working in Leo’s office or in a basement conference room. It was like he didn’t want to breathe the same air as her anymore.

One of the few times he deigned to speak to her – and this was the worst part – he wanted her to fly in Joey Lucas, just for an afternoon, to plan a poll about beets.

There had been a very, very, tiny, minuscule really, part of Donna that believed that once she wasn’t his assistant, Josh would see Donna differently, the way she sometimes dared to see him. But now, here he was, making up a stupid poll as an excuse to see Joey and flaunting it. She could hardly imagine him saying hello to her in passing after she left, much less taking her out to dinner.

The best part of her day now was receiving information from Andy’s office. Scott, her future boss, had already sent her a draft of upcoming remarks to the Maryland Education Association, and Donna surprised herself by sending along some feedback on the opening joke.

By mid-morning on the fourth day post-resignation notice, Donna had accepted that she was iced out of the White House, and probably out of Josh Lyman’s life. Overall, it hurt less than expected, which she took as a sign of personal and professional growth. She had already cleaned out her desk and written her exit memo. She figured it was probably time to tell other colleagues besides Josh about the new job.

Magically, just as she reached for the phone to invite Ginger to lunch, Ginger was calling _her._

“Hey,” Donna answered. “I was just about to call you!”

“Hey Donna, Toby wants to know if you could come by his office for a minute. Are you free now?”

“Sure,” Donna replied.

 _Andy probably told him about the job, and he wants to congratulate me,_ she thought as she hung up and walked across the lobby. _He’s really a softie._

* * *

Donna closed Toby’s office door and made a beeline to the bathroom. It was a single, thankfully, and she locked the door and leaned over the sink, trying to take deep breaths.

She should have stopped Toby the moment he said he was going to tell her something shocking. She should have reminded him (or told him, apparently) that she was resigning, that she wouldn’t even work here by the time they planned to go public.

She wasn’t supposed to know what she now knew, the reason why Josh was distant and taking urgent meetings with Joey. It had nothing to do with her, which was both a relief and a disappointment.

What a horrible time for her to resign. She let herself out of the bathroom and walked back to her desk, assessing her options. Maybe she could call Alex and ask to push her start date back. But that would be flaky, and even this tragic news about the President couldn’t totally extinguish her excitement about the job. Besides, Alex would probably want to know why she needed to push back, and she knew she would never lie nor betray the trust of Toby, Josh, and the President like that. She would just have to do the best she could with the six days she had left.

That night, in Josh’s barely lit office, wanting to show him she was still on his side, she said the code word, “Sagittarius,” and braced for a reaction.

Josh looked up at her softly.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

 _No,_ she thought. _I’m mad at you, at the President, at myself for leaving._ But she nodded.

Josh stood up, closed his office door, then wrapped his arms around her without speaking. Usually his touch woke up a swarm of butterflies at the base of her gut, but this embrace settled it. It was comforting, her closest friend letting her know all would be okay.

They broke apart and Donna didn’t know what to say, so she whispered, “When Toby told me, it seemed like he didn’t know about my new position.”

The office was dark, but they were standing close enough for her to see his jaw stiffen, like he only just remembered about her new position himself.

She wanted to close the space between them once more, feel him hold her again, and tell him that she could still help him get through this as his friend. But he wasn’t looking at her anymore.

“You can’t tell Andy or any of her staff before we announce,” he said firmly.

“Josh, of course,” she said.

“I can’t believe Toby told you,” he said.

“What?”

“You don’t really work here anymore. Pretty soon, you’ll be writing speeches calling for an investigation!”

“Josh…how could you say that? About Andy? About me? Come on, you’re upset. I can still help you deal with this,” she said, trying to keep the pitch of her voice under control.

“Donna, you’re not responsible for helping me deal with this, or my feelings about it,” he said, and for the second time in four days, he left her alone in his office.

* * *

Later that night, Josh returned to his office feeling like a complete asshole. He hoped to apologize, but Donna wasn’t at her desk. His legal pad was propped up in his desk chair, displaying a hastily-scrawled note:

_Josh – I’m taking the rest of my saved vacation days starting tomorrow. Will pick up things Sunday AM. Thank you again for every opportunity you’ve given me. – DM_

**Donna’s Second Day**

Because she hadn’t been working the week before starting in Andy’s office, she had time to study at least two dozen press releases, speeches, and memos. In her first staff meeting yesterday, she had jumped right in, asking questions and making suggestions. Today, though, Josh’s message proved to be quite the distraction, and she felt her resolve slipping away with every passing minute.

At 10:00, she called him back. He probably just needed help finding something.

“Josh Lyman’s office,” said a man’s voice. _Weird._

“Um, hi. This is Donna Moss, Josh’s-“

“Oh, Ms. Moss! Mr. Lyman has been hoping, I mean expecting your call. I’ll put you straight through.” She realized she was hoping he would be busy.

“Donna,” she heard him say.

“Is everything okay?” She cut straight to the point.

“No, Donna. Oh, God, this is hard…last night, Mrs. Landingham was hit and killed by a drunk driver.”

Panic flooded Donna’s body, followed by anguish. Her eyes burned, her heart sped up.

“Oh my god, Josh, I’m..so sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” she choked out.

“Donna…I…me too. I’m so sorry,” said Josh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next, Josh's POV, which of course will include some events + conversations we don't see here. Feedback welcomed!


	4. Two Weeks, Part 2

For the first time in a few days, Josh felt like he had done the right thing by bringing in Joey Lucas. She was shocked by the news of the President’s MS, but she handled the sudden plan like a total pro.

It was good to be out of the office for a couple of hours. Here at the airport, people were going about their business, no idea yet that a major national scandal was about to rear its ugly head, consuming their cable news stations and newspaper headlines.

Not that the airport was a happy place. Josh knew better than most that an airport could be full of loss.

After their brief discussion at the bar, Josh walked Joey back to her temporary interpreter.

“How’s Donna?” he asked, and it took Josh a split second to realize that Joey was asking, not the TV star-looking guy before him.

“Funny you should ask. She’s quitting. Off to work on the Hill,” he said. Then, not missing the opportunity to gloat, he added, “Looks like you were wrong.”

She knew exactly what he meant. “If anything, this makes me even more right.” The interpreter must have thought they were obnoxious. “Maybe,” Joey continued, “now that she’s out of your office, you can give her what she wants.”

With a devilish grin, Joey started to back away, her interpreter following.

“Hey!” Josh said. “Isn’t that misdirection?”

Joey let out a laugh and started signing. “Joshua, I don’t like you enough to stand in the way of the real thing!”

“What are you talking about?” He was nearly shouting to cover the growing distance between them.

“Take her to dinner, Joshua!’ Joey called out, then she and her interpreter turned around to walk to their gate.

Josh was momentarily glued to the ground, looking, but not necessarily feeling, utterly confused.

He made his way back to the car, and he thought to himself that he did not need Joey Lucas to tell him to take Donna out to dinner because he’d already had that idea himself, plenty of times. Granted, he hadn’t had that idea ever since her two weeks’ notice. He still thought it was outrageous that she, that anyone, really, would leave the White House. Plus, he hadn’t been thinking about asking _anyone_ out to dinner given the heaping pile of garbage he was currently dealing with at work. He was hardly eating regular dinners by himself. Planning a date was out of the question.

But as he left the airport, in the privacy of his car, he thought more about it. _It_ being how cute Donna was in her pink sweater, and how she deserved so much more than jerks who stopped for beers and supported Social Security cuts. He thought about what she said to him about red lights, and all of the things that Joey said, and the 20-second emotional roller coaster he rode when he thought she was going to confess her feelings.

Then he started to feel like he was right back on that roller coaster, so he decided to think about how he would brief Leo when he got back to the office instead of Donna and her hair, which was very soft when you touched it.

* * *

When Donna said “Sagittarius,” Josh’s heart broke. He hadn’t wanted her to find out on TV, but he wasn’t sure when he was going to tell her, or if he’d even be able to. When she said it, her expression was full of compassion – compassion he didn’t deserve.

Josh wasn’t so great with the words, so he hugged her instead.

 _What_ is _the real thing?_ he wondered. Maybe it was this, comforting someone you couldn’t bear to see hurting. As he held her, he thought that she was perfectly suited to his arms, and he inappropriately wondered what it would be like to hold her like this with fewer clothes on.

But then, she said Toby’s name, and every warm and fuzzy feeling inside of him turned to ice. He snapped at her, impulsively, regretting the words as they left his lips, but too ashamed to take them back.

Josh stalked out of the room, across the lobby, and into Toby’s office.

“You told Donna,” he declared. Toby dropped his pen and looked up at Josh, clearly disgruntled. “Even though she’s leaving,” Josh continued. Toby’s face stiffened, nearly imperceptibly.

“What did you just say?” Toby asked.

“Don’t act like you didn’t have your hand in this whole thing,” Josh said with disgust.

“Let’s just say I didn’t. Donna is leaving.” Toby said it more like a statement than a question.

“To go work for Andy.”

Toby’s mouth split into a grin, and he looked away from Josh.

“What’s funny about this?” Josh demanded. “You told Donna everything without consulting me, when she isn’t even going to be here when shit hits the fan!”

“Good for her!” Toby said, still smiling.

“ _Good for her?!”_

“Yes! At least one of us is not so blinded by loyalty to Jed Bartlet that she can look out for her career and avoid going down with this sinking ship!” Josh grimaced, yet Toby continued, calmly but firmly. “Are you mad at me for telling her? I was looking out for you, by the way. You’re welcome. Or are you mad at Donna for leaving? At Andy? At yourself for not doing right by Donna ages ago? Do not, _do not_ come at me with all of your misdirected rage. Be mad at who you are really mad at, and let the rest of us be. Goodnight.”

Toby picked up his pen and kept writing, as if Josh weren’t even there. Josh turned around, but he didn’t go back to his office yet. He walked outside for some fresh air, knowing of course that he was mad with the President and Leo, just like Toby.

As he walked around the grounds, he came up with a plan. He would apologize to Donna for being such a jackass. Then, he would offer to take her out for a congratulatory beer. Then, maybe, he could bring up how they might be friends after she started on the Hill. Yeah, friends. Friends was good. With fresh determination, Josh went back to his office, “I’m sorry” already on his lips.

* * *

Toby picked up his phone and dialed Andy’s house. He should have known the moment her eyes lit up at the Correspondents' Dinner. 

“Hello?” she answered.

“You hired Donna? And didn’t feel like giving anyone here a courtesy call?” he grilled, skipping the pleasantries. Ex-wives were exempt from pleasantries.

“Oh, Toby, you know, I absolutely _scoured_ the rule book and didn’t see anything about courtesy calls!”

“Very funny, Andy.”

“I’m doing the best thing for myself and for Donna, and you know it. She’s better than guarding Josh Lyman’s door and nursing his ego. Josh will figure that out once she’s gone, too.”

“Oh, so you’re doing this to teach Josh a lesson?” Toby asked, surprised that this woman still had the ability to shock him.

“No, I already did this because I needed a new writer, and I wanted it to be Donna. Josh learning not to take his talented employees for granted is a bonus.”

“A bonus. Right. Well, the next time you come hunting around the West Wing for fresh meat, give me a heads up.”

“No, I don’t think I will, Toby. Tell Sam hi for me,” and she hung up.

* * *

A few days later, Josh had finally accepted that he needed to look through the personnel files to find a new assistant. His calls were backing up, and he was starting to show up late to every meeting because he frequently misjudged how long various tasks would take.

He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to reach out to Donna. On the one hand, he knew he still needed to apologize. He had been a total jerk to her because he felt betrayed by the President, not by her. On the other hand…he assumed she was really mad at him, and he was terrified of the consequences of that anger. He decided to wait until after she started in Andy’s office. That way, her mind would have other things to focus on besides how horribly he had treated her. If he called her now, well, she’d probably been sitting at home stewing for days! It would be much worse if he called her now.

He had barely cracked open the first personnel file when C.J. popped her head, then her whole body, into his office.

“Whatcha doing?” she asked.

As the MS announcement approached, the days started to feel longer, and even though there were other things going on, it was hard to focus on them. Meandering the office looking for distractions had become the norm.

“Looking for a replacement for Donna,” Josh sighed.

“That sounds challenging,” C.J. said, sitting down.

“Sure, make yourself comfortable,” Josh said under his breath.

C.J. ignored him.

“To find someone as capable and organized as Donna will be hard enough,” she said, “but then the additional requirements of loving you enough to sign your hospital discharge papers if you get shot again will be impossible to find in a candidate.”

“Shut up. Donna did not sign any papers.”

“Plus, they need to be able to engage the entire West Wing in a will-they-won’t-they romantic arc with you. Big job ahead of you, finding someone who can do _that_ as well as Donna.”

“Okay-“

“What are you two doing?” It was Sam. Josh tossed the open personnel file back on top of the pile. Clearly these two were not going to let him get any work done.

“We were just talking about how Josh is going to win Donna back,” C.J. answered.

“We were _not_ talking about that,” Josh tried.

“As his assistant?” Sam asked. “Good luck with that!”

“No, as his lover,” C.J. said with a smirk.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Josh said, starting to scramble papers around his desk, but Sam played along.

“Oh, that’ll be much easier for you, Josh, you just have to take her out on a nice date. Except…you’ll still need an assistant to make dinner reservations and pick out your clothes, because I doubt Donna will want to do that anymore if she's your girlfriend.”

"Lover," C.J. corrected.

“Will both of you get out?” Josh asked, exasperated. “Go bother Toby.”

“You know, she’d say yes if you asked her out,” said C.J.

“And you know you really want to ask her out,” Sam quickly followed.

“OUT!” Josh yelled, and his so-called friends scurried out his office door.

But not for long. Sam poked his head back in.

“I swear to god, Sam,” Josh started.

“I’m just saying. You’re allowed to be happy, and it won’t be weird. You two would be great together.” He raised his hands by his face as if to say, “I surrender.”

“Get out!” Josh said again, but his forehead softened, and he felt a little bit of what must have been gratitude. He sat down, pulled out a legal pad, and started jotting a to-do list.  
  


  1. Choose replacement candidates
  2. Touch base w/ Leo re: tobacco
  3. Apologize to Donna



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slight delay; this chapter was difficult for me to write. I wanted to push forward with the plot, but I also thought it was important to go back & see Josh hearing from important people in his life about this. What do you think? Should I expand this chapter, weave it into the last one, or leave it? Eek!


	5. After the Funeral

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short but sweet! More soon :)

Donna knew that funerals were difficult for Josh, but she tried not to think about whether or not he was okay and focus on the service. That proved challenging, given that he sat just a few rows ahead of her and kept glancing over his shoulder.

Donna had thought that the first time she saw him would be under completely different circumstances. She’d be someone Important on the Hill, and when he ran into her at some Important gala, he’d either be too intimidated to approach her or instantly profess his love. It wouldn’t be here, at a funeral, only two days after starting her new job, sitting with the other assistants.

She silently berated herself for not better controlling her thoughts. She was at a _funeral_ for Christ’ sake.

Josh wasn’t doing much better. He was upset about Mrs. Landingham, anxious about the announcement that night, which nobody even considered postponing, and extremely aware that in the next hour he was going to have a make-it-or-break-it interaction with Donna.

However, unlike Donna, he welcomed the distractions. He’d never been to a Catholic funeral, but it was enough like every other funeral he’d sat through to fill him with familiar feelings of guilt and panic. Thinking about the announcement, and Donna, helped him.

After the service, most of those in attendance lingered around the cathedral grounds, consoling one another and commenting on the big storm that was supposed to blow in that evening.

“We should get back to the office,” Sam said, placing a hand on Josh’s shoulder.

“You go, I’ll be right behind you,” Josh said.

Sam followed Josh’s gaze to the back of Donna’s head. She was talking to Carol.

“Ah,” Sam said. “What are you gonna do?”

Josh looked at Sam, his jaw set.

“You don’t know,” Sam said correctly. “That usually goes well for you. Godspeed.” With another clap on Josh’s arm, Sam walked away, leaving Josh standing alone, looking at Donna’s…hair.

Carol caught Josh’s eye, and, even though he looked away quickly, she stopped her story.

“Looks like my time’s up,” she said to Donna with a wink. Donna turned around and saw Josh, hands in his pockets, looking over at her.

They were standing far enough apart that others unknowingly walked between them, but close enough to lock eyes. They may as well have been holding a taut rope in their hands, that’s how palpable the tension was.

Josh broke first, walking toward her. He smiled, and to his great relief, she smiled back.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hi,” she replied.

“How’s the Hill?” he asked.

“So far, so good.”

“Donna, I’m…” he stumbled. Donna knew how difficult it was for him to apologize. “I’m really happy for you. And, I’m sorry I wasn’t more congratulatory when you told me. And that I blew up after you talked to Toby.”

“Josh, it’s okay, seriously. I had no idea what was on your plate, and it was very unusual for Toby to tell me something like that.”

“You don’t have to do this,” he said, almost in a whisper, taking another step closer to her.

“Do what?”

“Make excuses for me. I was a jerk.”

Donna was glad to hear him say it. It was a sign of _his_ personal growth.

“Okay, well, water under the bridge,” she said and extended her hand. Josh looked as though he might tease her, but instead, he shook it. He didn’t want to let go.

Donna looked at Josh, a question in her eyes, and he knew exactly what it was.

“It’s tonight,” he said. “C.J.’s got it on basically every channel.”

They both knew that their lives would be different after the announcement, a much bigger change than the one Donna had caused with her abrupt departure.

“Do I need to get a lawyer?” Donna asked. The thought only just occurred to her. Josh was standing so close to her now, she wanted to reach out and touch him, if only to prove to herself that he was solid.

“Probably, but don’t worry. I’ll help you.”

And then he squeezed her hand.

Terrified, but of what, she wasn’t quite sure, she squeezed his hand back.

“I have to get back to the White House,” he said, then he turned around and jogged away.


	6. Pursuit of an Uncertain Future

“Yep….and I’m gonna win.”

Donna let out a shriek and leapt from her couch, not noticing that the wine she was holding sloshed onto the floor.

She was filled with a nearly-manic energy. She was thrilled for the President. She wished she could do something – anything to help them. She started pacing around her apartment, straightening pictures on the walls and fluffing throw pillows. _Holy crap._ They did it! The President, Leo, Toby, Josh. Josh! His poor assistant. She imagined his phone was ringing off the hook, even this late.

At that moment, her own home phone rang. She answered without even checking the caller ID.

“Did you know about this?” It was Alex. His voice pulsed with energy, but she couldn’t tell if he was elated, like her, or furious.

“Some of it. Not all! And, not on purpose. What is Andy – I mean, Congresswoman Wyatt going to think?” Donna was suddenly nervous that Andy wouldn’t support the President anymore, as crazy as that would be. Even showing up at work would be nearly impossible if that was the case.

“If I know anything about Andy, it’s that she loves a fight. You and Scott will need to get right to work on a statement of support tomorrow.”

“Of course,” Donna said with relief.

“Tell Josh Lyman we’ve got his back. Night, Donna.” Alex hung up.

Donna knew she didn’t need permission to say anything to Josh, but it was a sign she would take.

The phone rang again. This time, she checked: the White House was calling. It was Sam Seaborn, of all people. After talking to him, Donna slipped on her rain boots and jacket and set out into a tropical storm to tell Josh she always had his back.

* * *

Josh had calls waiting on every line, staffers were sprinting around the West Wing, and a hurricane was raging outside, but absolutely nothing could kill his mood right now. He’d never been more proud to work for the president.

Just as he sat down to answer the first call, he heard Leo’s voice from the bullpen.

“Listen up, everybody!”

Josh slid from behind his desk and into the doorway, where he saw Leo and the President standing in the center of the suddenly-frozen chaos.

“Good evening everyone,” began the President. He was interrupted by thunderous applause. He smiled, then gestured to the room to settle down before continuing.

“All of you have made sacrifices for me. Some of you have even bigger sacrifices ahead.” His eyes flickered to Josh, who knew a subpoena might as well be on the way already. “You will never know how grateful I am for your loyalty and service to me and, much more importantly, to your country. Thank you.”

More applause.

“We face an uncertain future, but I insist that we all wait until tomorrow to pursue it. Tonight, go home. Be with your families. What’s on your desk will still be there in the morning.” The President nodded his head in thanks again and strode out of the bullpen. His staff, however, made no sudden moves.

“You heard him,” Leo said loudly. “Go home.”

Slowly, a few people started setting down their memos and collecting their bags. Leo walked toward Josh.

“Leo, what the hell?” Josh asked incredulously.

“You too, kid. We need you ready to go tomorrow. Go get some rest.”

“You gotta be kidding me! I need to talk to all of leadership tonight or –“

Leo held up his hand, silencing Josh.

“No deal-making tonight, Josh. Go home. Or out. I really don’t care where you go. Just don’t stay here.”

As soon as Leo left, he was replaced by Sam.

“Hawk and Dove?” Sam asked, a victorious smile still plastered to his face.

“What about the press?”

“I don’t think they’re braving all of this,” he indicated the rain pelting Josh’s window, “for quotes they know we’ll never give them. Toby and C.J. are coming. I already called a car.”

* * *

Josh followed the gang through the doors of the Hawk and Dove, taking in the familiar smell of fried bar snacks. It wasn’t very crowded, but it was clear that every person in the joint was talking about the same thing. Toby, C.J., and Sam peeled to the left to claim a table, but Josh halted in his tracks.

Sitting at the bar, hair nearly soaked, a huge grin on her face, was Donna. For the second time that day, he walked straight toward her like he had no choice, like they were connected by an invisible rope.

“What are you doing here?” he said, not bothering to hide his own smile.

“I wanted to tell you that the President can count on Andy’s support.”

“You came here for a meeting?” he asked, eyebrows raised.

“Only partially. I also thought you’d maybe like to buy me a drink. And one other thing.”

“What’s that?”

“This is what I meant, about red lights. Good or bad, when something big happens, I'll come running.”

* * *

As Sam and C.J. argued loudly over some inane topic as though the events of the last six hours were insignificant, Toby thought about how Leo had tried to get him a lifeboat – another job to prove to the President how devoted his staff was. He remembered what he had said to Josh about Donna getting off of a sinking ship and cringed at his moment of weakness. Crumpling his napkin, he made a silent vow to never give anyone reason to question his loyalty, or anyone else’s, no matter how angry he felt. He was overcome with an emotion he only felt rarely: remorse.

He looked around for Josh, considering apologizing, and spotted him at the bar, locked in an embrace with Donna, who looked like she had recently fallen out of an actual lifeboat. They pulled apart, but only briefly; Josh leaned in and kissed her gently, right there at the bar. C.J. and Sam cheered, Josh gave them all the middle finger, not bothering to remove his lips from Donna’s, and Toby figured that there was no need to revisit the past. Everything had changed now, anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little epilogue coming next :)


	7. Epilogue: Manchester

Josh walked into the lobby of the Manchester Inn and headed straight to the front desk.

“Good evening, Mr. Lyman,” said the young woman behind the desk. “Give me just a moment to pull up your reservation. We just moved our booking system to the computer!”

Every time the circus came to town, it filled up the quaint little motel. Most of the time, the staff of the Manchester Inn dealt with road-tripping antique hunters, but a few times a year, it was home to backup secret service agents, cable TV reporters, and high-profile political operatives.

“Um, I’m sorry, Mr. Lyman, but it seems you don’t have a reservation in our system,” said the woman, whose name Josh couldn’t remember, even though she was behind the front desk every time he’d been a guest.

“You gotta be kidding me,” Josh groaned. It was nearly midnight, and he had taken a beating today. He was annoyed by Bruno’s staff, but not nearly as much as Toby, whose brooding was contagious. Leo wouldn’t let him do anything about the FDA. And now, he didn’t have a place to sleep. He whipped out his cell phone, ready to rip apart whoever on advance was responsible for this.

Just then, the lobby door opened, the bells attached to its handle jangling. In walked Andy Wyatt, her assistant – was it Lori? – and, to Josh’s great relief, Donna.

He hung up his phone. Andy raised her eyebrows at him, but walked on by. _There's a problem I’ll have to deal with,_ Josh thought to himself. Andy would be on the campaign trail a lot, just like last time. She was a popular liberal Congresswoman, and her introductions got the rally crowds fired up. But she always had notes on her remarks, which Toby insisted he or Sam write, instead of just approving whatever her staff wrote. Then, when Toby couldn’t take her feedback, Josh ended up having to handle her.

“You won’t believe this,” Josh said to Donna after Andy had gone.

“Try me,” Donna said. Her hair was clipped back, and she had a pencil tucked behind her ear. The look made Josh want to sweep her upstairs and out of her clothes immediately. Except he didn’t have a room.

“I don’t have a room,” he said.

Donna scolded him with her eyes. “You should really answer the phone when your assistant calls instead of ignoring him all day and then blowing a gasket at 11:45 at night when you’re caught off guard.”

“What are you talking about? I always answered when you called.”

“That was because you had a crush on me.” She turned to face the receptionist. “Hi, Meredith. Donna Moss. Could I have two keys, please? One for me, and one for Mr. Lyman here.”

“You canceled my room?” Josh asked her. “You should have told me!”

“I told your assistant.”

“We’re staying together?”

“Well, I asked your mother first, and she said it’s okay. Thanks, Meredith,” Donna said, taking the keys and handing one to Josh. She headed toward the stairwell, suitcase bumping along behind her. Josh had no choice but to hoist his duffel bag over his shoulder and follow her.

“Okay, Donna-” he started, following her up the stairs and into the second floor hallway.

“It’s a waste of money for us to both have rooms when we’ll end up sleeping together every night. Plus, we are old news. It’s not nearly as scandalous as you think it is. This way, Bartlet For America has some spare change they can use to make more t-shirts or whatever.”

She stopped in front of room 214 and stuck the old-fashioned key into the lock. He couldn’t help but step behind her, put his hands on her hips, and lean in to kiss her neck.

She had come to learn that this was his way of saying, “Thank you, you’re so thoughtful, Donna,” and she grinned.

They slid into the room and started peeling off shoes, ties, and jewelry. From the bathroom where Donna was taking out her toiletries, she asked, “Want me to set the work talk timer?”

Josh rolled his eyes and laid back on the bed.

The work talk timer was Donna’s idea. Whenever there was an issue that involved both of their offices, she only let them talk about it outside of work for 20 minutes. She had a stopwatch. Since Donna’s job these days was largely coordinating Andy’s messaging with the President’s, such issues were arising with greater frequency.

Donna thought the timer preserved their relationship, but Josh hated the hard stop at 20 minutes, which was usually when he was just getting worked up about Andy’s bothersome ideas and requests.

“Let’s do it in the morning,” he replied.

She came out of the bathroom, hair still clipped back, wearing only an old gray t-shirt that said _Yale Law_ in navy block lettering. She had washed the makeup off of her face, which Josh preferred, because he loved knowing she was real.

The last couple of months had been a bizarre mix of stress and bliss. During the day, he had been navigating the tobacco suit and the MS fallout, each a giant pit of quicksand that threatened to swallow him whole if he lingered in it for too long. But after work, he had started spending every possible spare minute with Donna. It was a thrill to learn new and occasionally mundane things about each other, like how her closet was organized by season and color, and how he couldn’t watch war movies on TV anymore. And, of course, they were having a lot of sex. It was just as electric as the years of tension had made them anticipate.

Donna crawled onto the bed beside him, and he wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close. He thought about all the time he had wasted sleeping across the hall from her in the Manchester Inn, even though he usually had to pull off crazy favors for Leo to get her approved to come on all of those trips in the first place.

Donna looked up at him. “All I’ll say is that you should go easy on Andy in our meeting tomorrow,” she said.

“Oh yeah, and why is that?”

“Because not all of her ideas are bad. In fact, I can think of one of her ideas that was very good for you.”

Josh rolled his eyes again, but smiled. “One day, Donna, you’ll realize that this was my plan all along.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I think that's it! I'd love any and all feedback. I had a lot of fun writing this story; I could see these scenes fitting in the final few episodes of season 2 (and Manchester 1&2) so vividly in my head. How epic would it have been if J&D had shared their first kiss - or had some other big dramatic situation - at the end of Two Cathedrals? Thanks for reading. :)


End file.
